


i like you a latte

by basha



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, Getting Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:06:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basha/pseuds/basha
Summary: Keating's Coffee Shop is Todd Anderson's favorite place on campus. It has everything he likes: good coffee, good books, and a very cute barista named Neil. (AKA a modern day coffee shop AU.)
Relationships: Ginny Danbury/Chris Noel/Knox Overstreet, Steven Meeks/Gerard Pitts, Todd Anderson & Charlie Dalton & Neil Perry, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Comments: 14
Kudos: 138





	i like you a latte

Charlie would say that the relationship between Neil and Todd started because of him. Neil would say in spite of him. Todd would say that it didn’t matter. 

The one thing that absolutely everyone could agree on was that it all started when Todd walked into Keating’s Coffee Shop on the same cool September day that Neil and Charlie started the great foam art war.

That September, Todd was new to campus. When he had toured, trailing behind Jeff like an acne-ridden duckling in his junior year, he remembered thinking that a place like this would crush him like a bug. It had been winter, then, always Todd’s least favorite season, and every person and place on campus was looming and intimidating. In the grey light of the morning, even his own shadow looked threatening. Walking onto campus as his own man, out of the shadow of his recently graduated brother, it was like a new place altogether. 

The brick buildings suddenly seemed stately and beautiful. The trees were just starting to turn from green to orange and red. The sky was blue and endless. Todd spent his first month wandering around campus, stopping here and there to write down fragments of poetry in the Notes app on his phone as they pop into his mind. 

On one of these excursions, he found Keating’s. Jeff had never told Todd about Keating’s, which in his experience so far, meant that it was worth a shot. When he walked in, a bell jingled cheerfully. Todd knew he liked it immediately. He wasn’t sure if it was the cozy hodgepodge of chairs and tables strewn throughout the room, the wall of books, or the laughter of the two brunette boys behind the real wooden counter, but something about Keating’s screams of home. 

He walked up to the counter, rehearsing his order in his head. A boy with dark red hair stood behind the cash register, frowning deeply.

“What can I get ya?” The guy asked, sounding both bored and annoyed. Todd was close enough now to see the name Richard on his name tag. 

“J-just a latte please.”

“Here or to go?” 

“Here, please.”

“That’ll be $3.50,” Richard said. “Hey, idiots! Break’s over--come out here and make this kid a latte!” Todd paid quickly, and moved to the drink pick up part of the bar. He pulled out his phone and began to quickly capture some notes and feelings about the place for a poem already shaping in his head. 

“One latte?” A voice asked, startling him from his musings. He looked up quickly, then froze. He felt like one of Medusa’s victims, but it wasn’t a curse turning him to stone. It was the deep brown eyes of the boy in front of him. The guy was gorgeous. Unbelievably gorgeous. Todd found himself quickly taking note of everything about him. He had a rainbow pin on his little apron. He had a tattoo twining under his collar bone that Todd couldn’t quite make out. He had a name tag that read Neil. 

He also had a coffee in his hands, which Todd was supposed to take from him. 

“S-sorry,” he said. “I think that’s mine.” He reached out and took the cup. He looked away from Neil’s eyes and into the cup to find a heart made in the foam. “Wow,” he said. “Did you make that?” Neil smiled, and Todd was horrified to note that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

“I did!” Neil replied pleasantly. “My friend Charlie and I are learning how to do that foam art stuff. It came out okay, didn’t it?”

“It’s beautiful,” Todd replies with what he knows is a little too much sincerity. 

“Thanks,” Neil said. “I--” Todd never got to hear what he was going to say next, though, because the other brunette boy from behind the counter crashed into Neil’s side with a manic sort of smile.

“You think that’s good?” he asked Todd. “Check this out.” He extended another cup towards Todd. In the foam, there was a very blobby rendition of a cat, whiskers and all. Neil burst into laughter over his shoulder.

“Wow, Charlie,” Neil said. “It’s so lifelike! I didn’t hear anyone else order a latte though?” 

“I didn’t do it to fulfil my role as cog in this capitalist machine we call a coffee shop,” Charlie retorted. “Haven’t you ever heard of art for art’s sake?”

“You just wanted to show me up in front of the new customer!” Neil exclaimed. Todd smiled awkwardly, not quite sure what to make of that. Neil turned the full force of his perfect gaze back onto Todd. “Well, this idiot certainly doesn’t need any more coffee, so if you’d like, here is a second latte on the house. And if you’re drinking them both, might as well get comfortable. This place is technically a bookshop, but we all use it like a library. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare, we have a great collection right over there.” 

Todd picked up both cups, feeling kind of dazed. 

“Thank you,” he said. He placed both cups down onto a table in the corner where Neil had pointed, then drifted over to the shelves. He dithered for a moment before pulling a battered copy of A Midsummers Night’s Dream off of the shelves. He sank down into the armchair at his table, opened the book, and took a sip of the latte. It was perfect.  _ Yup, _ Todd thought.  _ It’s official. This is my favorite place on campus.  _

Todd comes back. A lot. He comes almost every day, until Keating’s is his go to spot for studying, writing, and recuperating after his weekly call home. He starts to bring Steven and Gerard with him after a little while, which turns out to be an excellent idea, because it turns the three of them into friends instead of just roommates, so Todd doesn’t feel (too much) like a third wheel. 

Neil and Charlie start calling him “our regular.” After a few weeks of that, he tells them his name, and they start calling him “Todd.” 

After about a month or so, Todd is pretty sure they’re all friends. It’s either that or he is a very well treated pawn in their little game. Neil and Charlie, Todd learns very quickly, have been best friends since the first day of second grade and competitors since the second day. They compete over everything possible, and for some reason, they’ve latched on to Todd as a source of judgement. 

“Toddric!” Charlie shouts one day as soon as he, Steven, and Ger have walked through the door. It’s cold enough now that they’re all wearing puffy jackets and counting the days until it snows. Behind the counter, Charlie pushes Richard out of the way so he can lean over the cash register with a demented gleam in his eyes. Richard huffs and walks away.

“That’s not my name, Charlie,” Todd says, pulling off his gloves. 

“I can barely hear you, Todd-o, you’re so quiet!” Charlie says. “Come here, I want you to try something.”

“O-okay,” Todd says. He scans quickly around for Neil and sees him with a stack of plates, clearing a mug off a table as he chats cheerfully with the young blonde woman sitting there. Meanwhile, Charlie starts pouring and mixing things into a mug. 

“Charlie,” Ger says. “I respect whatever the hell this is, but I’ve been up for three nights working on my programming project, and I need a coffee.”

“Coming right up!” Charlie shouts (literally, at the top of his lungs). He grabs another mug and fills it with black coffee, cream, and three spoonfuls of sugar, which Ger accepts with a grateful moan. Then he finishes sprinkling cinnamon on his concoction for Todd and hands it over. “What do you think, pal?” Todd takes a hesitant sip. Then he takes another one. 

“Charlie,” he says, “this is actually pretty good!” 

“Haha! Take that, Perry!” Charlie shouts.

“What now?” Neil asks, suddenly appearing behind Todd. Todd whirls around to look at him, and, as always, his heart skips a little beat. “Hi Todd.”

“Hi Neil.”

“Todd liked my Caramel Cinnamon Mocha Drizzle,” Charlie says smugly. “And to think, you said it sounded terrible.”

“You really thought that was good?” Neil asks, gaze fixed intensely on Todd. He feels himself blushing and shrugs. “Let me show you how a real man makes a drink.” Todd’s not quite sure how to respond to that, but it doesn’t matter. Neil’s already vaulted the counter and busied himself with a mug. “You’re gonna love this, Anderson, I promise. Hang out for a second, okay?” Todd thinks he’d hang out forever if Neil asked him. Instead he just nods. Steven pulls at his sleeve.

“I’m gonna take Ger over there and make him sit down, he’s dead on his feet,” Steven says. His hand is wrapped around Ger’s waist, while Gerard stares off into the distance. “Just grab me a cookie and come meet us when you’re done flirting.”

“It’s not--” Steven disappears with Gerard before Todd can finish. He looks back across the counter where Charlie is ringing up another customer while Neil stirs something into the drink he’s making for Todd. He has a look of complete concentration on his face. Todd pulls up his Notes app and jots down a few phrases as they pop into his head. 

“Done!” Neil says happily, handing Todd the second mug. “Drink up, Anderson. Dalton, prepare to lose.” Todd takes a sip. It tastes like pumpkin and chocolate. 

“It tastes like Halloween,” he says neutrally. Neil fist pumps. They’ve talked before about how much Neil loves Halloween. 

“Whose was better?” Charlie demands, pressing his shoulder against Neil’s. “Be honest, Todd!” Todd takes another sip from both of the mugs he has in his hands. He looks up at Neil and Charlie’s faces, awash with childlike excitement and anticipation, and can’t help but smile back.

“They’re both good,” he says finally, and Neil and Charlie groan in unison. 

“Boo!” Charlie says. “Boo to that!”

“Guess we’ll have to try again tomorrow,” Neil says. “I’ll win you over soon, Anderson!” Todd smiles, ignoring the voice in his head that wishes Neil was saying that in another context. 

“How much do I owe you for the coffees?” he asks. 

“You offend me,” Neil says. “Drinks for our taste tester are on the house.”

“And here,” Charlie says, handing over a chocolate chip cookie on a small plate. “For the redhead.”

As the weeks pass, the competition escalates. Neil and Charlie compete over book recommendations, nicknames, and pranks on Richard; then demand judgements from Todd. At first, he feels awkward picking sides, but soon enough he finds himself enjoying his role as deliberator, especially when they give him free coffee. He likes Charlie and Neil, though in different ways, and though he doesn’t understand why he’s the object of their attention, he enjoys it. 

Then one week they escalate to leaving him pick up lines. Charlie starts it, of course, handing him a mug and a napkin as he enters the shop. Todd assumes this is a non-competition day, and thanks Charlie absently before drifting over to his favorite seat to study for his poetry class. He’s halfway through the latte before he even looks at the napkin. There’s writing on it, in Charlie’s distinctive scrawl:  _ r u from tennessee? bc ur the only 10 i see!  _ Todd laughs out loud.

“What’s funny?” Neil asks, appearing suddenly over Todd’s shoulder. Todd jumps. 

“Jesus, Neil, you’ve got to stop doing that!”

“Do I?” Neil asks, with a cocky eyebrow raise. Todd rolls his eyes, and hands Neil the napkin. Neil reads it and furrows his brow. “You look like you need a new drink!” Neil says, bending down and grabbing Todd’s mug. “Be right back!”

“Neil! I wasn’t done drinking that!” Todd watches helplessly and Neil bustles away with his half-full mug. He rolls his eyes again, and refocuses on the poem in front of him, until Neil thrusts a new mug and napkin under his nose. “Oh. Thanks.”

Neil peers down at the book. 

“Is that Whitman? Leaves of Grass?”

“Yeah,” Todd says. “I’m, uh, doing a paper about him.” Neil smiles.

“Nice,” he says. “I love Walt. I’d love to read your paper when you finish.” Todd blushes. 

“It won’t be very good,” he says.

“Nonsense!” Neil replies. “I’ll leave you alone now--enjoy your book and your coffee!” Todd smiles and watches him until he’s back behind the counter. Then he glances down at the new napkin Neil handed him. It reads:  _ if i had a flower for every time i thought of you, i’d be walking through my garden forever.  _ Todd inhales sharply. He forces himself to take several deep breaths. His chest aches with how much he wishes Neil really meant it. 

“Charlie’s was funnier,” he calls over his shoulder on the way out. He doesn’t turn back to look at their faces as he leaves; he doesn’t think he could bear it. 

Over the next week, the pick-up lines get more and more ludicrous, and Todd tries to be a good sport. He really does.

It all comes to a head the week before Halloween, when the mysterious Mr. Keating returns from his holiday to London and immediately announces that Keating’s is going to hold a poetry slam night. 

“Back to our roots!” The man booms in the center of the coffee shop. First time customers stare in awe, the regulars, used to antics, don’t even look up. “Let’s regain our status as the creative refuge on campus. Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses ready to drink coffee and perform poetry!”

“Holy crap,” Steven mutters to Todd and Gerard. “This is who Charlie gets it from.”

“You should come and read, Todd,” Neil says. He’s sitting at their table today, ten minutes into his five minute break. “We’re always looking for new performers, and I’ve been dying to hear your stuff.” Todd laughs nervously.

“I’m not a poet,” he says. 

“First of all, bull,” Neil retorts easily. “I see you scribbling away all of the time! And second of all, who cares? Charlie and I have this friend Knox--he’s not a poet, but he doesn’t let that stop him!”

“You should do it,” Ger says. “Your stuff is great.” Todd knows he’s red as a tomato. He regrets ever letting Ger read anything he’s ever written. Especially because most of it was about a certain barista and his perfect eyes. 

“Yeah, come on Todd,” Steven says. “I’ll do it if you do.”

“What are we doing?” Charlie asks, leaning over the top of Steven’s chair.

“Todd?” Neil prompts. Todd buries his head in his hands, but he knows when he’s done for. 

“Slam poetry night,” he says. Around him, all of his friends whoop loudly. Todd considers just locking himself in his room and never coming out.

He comes to the poetry slam that night, because of course he does. Steven and Ger, flanking him on either side like prison guards, keep up an endless stream of pep talks. Charlie keeps texting Todd encouraging gifs of animals. When he arrives, Neil smiles like Todd has just made his entire week. None of that stops Todd from wanting to throw up. 

The first half of slam poetry night is surprisingly amazing. Keating reads first, followed by Neil, then Charlie, then an impressive stream of other students. Some people recite others’ work, some read original pieces. Some are very funny, others make Todd want to cry. Then Keating announces that Knox, Neil and Charlie’s baby faced friend, is up next. Todd knows that his name is on the list right after Knox’s. Knox fist-bumps Neil, then jumps up onto the stage. 

“This one goes out to some very special people,” Knox says. “There once was a girl…” Todd doesn’t hear the rest of the poem. He’s too busy focusing on escaping. He turns frantically and makes a beeline for the door. Someone grabs his arm. He tries to pull away. The person holds on. 

“Todd?” Oh. The person is Neil. Todd looks at him, trying to keep from crying. 

“I don’t wanna do this anymore,” he says, quietly. Neil blinks.

“Come with me,” he says, finally, pulling Todd just outside of the door and into the cold, fresh air. Todd takes a deep breath. “We’ve got plenty of time, Knox has dozens of poems about his girlfriends. Hey, look at me.” Todd looks up from his shoes into Neil’s eyes. He feels himself shaking. “Just keep looking at me,” Neil says, gently. “Is it, like, a stage fright thing?” Todd nods, slowly. “Are you scared that your poem isn’t good or that you’re gonna mess it up?”

“Both,” Todd replies miserably. “This was a stupid idea, Neil. I can’t do this.”

“I think you can,” Neil replies. His voice is surprisingly firm. His gaze hasn’t wavered once; he’s locked onto Todd like there’s a magnetic pull between them. “No one’s going to be mad if you don’t read your poem, Todd. That’s perfectly okay. But I wouldn’t want you to miss out on what could be a really cool experience for you just because of the mean voice in your head. I think your poem is going to be awesome, and I think you think so too.” He looks away for the first time and flicks at his boyband bangs, bashfully. “And I really want to hear it.” Todd takes a deep breath. He’s not sure if this is real life. 

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll go.”

They go back inside. Charlie announces him with unnecessary aplomb. On the little platform Keating calls a stage, with the lights set up the way they do, Todd can’t really see the audience. It’s like he’s in a cocoon of light. He pulls out his phone and opens up a folder of his work. He takes a deep breath and starts to read. His first poem is called Walt Whitman, but it’s not really about Walt Whitman. He reads another, then another. When he steps off the stage, his heart is pumping and his ears are ringing. The applause is raucous. 

Steven and Ger jump on him right away, smothering him in a group hug. Keating shakes his hand firmly; even Richard says “not bad.” Knox, who Todd hasn’t even officially met, gives him a hug, his face streaked with tears. Todd pushes towards the back of the crowd as the next performer starts reading.

“Todd!” It’s Charlie, swinging an arm around his shoulder. He’s whispering, but at the same volume as his speaking voice.

“Hi Charlie,” Todd says, still smiling. He leans into Charlie’s warmth, just slightly. “Thanks for the intro.”

“Are you kidding?” Charlie asks. “How come you never told me that you’re a bomb ass poet? That was incredible, Todd-o! When can I read more of your stuff? Tonight? Tomorrow? Help me out here, Anderson, you can’t get a guy hooked and then deny him the good stuff.”

“I don’t know,” Todd says, extracting himself. “That was kind of everything I have finished.” That was a lie, but all of his other poems were so blatantly about Neil that he’d probably burst into flames from embarrassment if Charlie ever looked at them. “See you tomorrow, Charlie.”

“See ya, Shakespeare.” Todd smiles and walks off. There’s only one person he really wants to talk to right now. And there he is. Neil appears in front of him, smiling, and pulls him into a hug. 

“What did I say, Anderson?” That was amazing!”

“Thank you,” Todd says. He’s not sure he could stop smiling if he tried. 

“You might be my new favorite poet,” Neil says cheerfully. “Can I read more of your poetry sometime?" Todd’s blood suddenly runs cold. The smile drops from his face. This is another one of their dumb competitions: who can get Todd to show them some more poetry the quickest. This whole thing was probably just part of their ongoing antics. Todd wonders if either of them even liked his poems, or if they just wanted to see more so they could laugh at it later. 

“Goddamn it, Neil,” he hisses. “I’m tired of being a pawn in your little game, okay? From now on, leave me alone, will you?” He pulls away, ignoring the bewildered look on Neil’s face, and storms out of Keating’s, into the night. It’s just started to snow. Todd runs all the way back to his dorm and tries to avoid his own shadow. 

He doesn’t go back to Keating’s for the next week. He doesn’t think he could bear it. He does start to miss their coffee though. He begs Steven to get him a latte. Steven returns with four lattes and a ticket to the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet for the next day.

“What is this?” Todd asks, examining it closely. 

“It’s a ticket to a play,” Steven says, hovering in the doorway like he’s not sure he should leave Todd alone. “Neil gave it to me to give to you. Do you want to go? Ger and I would come with you. He loves the theatre.”

“Did he say anything else?” Todd asks, taking a sip of the coffee. It’s perfect, as always. 

“He told me to tell you that he never meant to make you feel like a pawn,” Steven says. “I assume you know what he’s talking about, because I don’t.” Todd takes a shaky breath. 

“You guys will come with me?”

“Course,” Steven says. “Any time.” Todd takes another sip of coffee. 

“Okay,” he says. “Then we’ll go.”

Todd’s never been much for the theatre, but he’s only ever heard good things about the school’s theatre department. The mass of people filing into the theatre also seems like a good sign.

“Todd!” Todd turns away from Steven and Gerard to see Knox, who’s standing next to a beautiful blonde girl, waving frantically at him. Todd waves back.

“Hello,” Todd calls, cocking his head in confusion as Knox bounds over like an oversized puppy. 

“I was worried I’d missed you!” Knox informs him, cheerfully. “Neil wanted me to give you these.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a crumpled playbill for the show and an even more crumpled rose. “They looked much nicer when he first gave them to me.”

“Oh,” Todd says. He takes both objects, then just stares at them. He’s beginning to think he might have misinterpreted Neil’s intentions. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Knox says. “See you!” He hustles away, practically skipping. Out of the corner of his eye, Todd sees Steven nudge Ger. He shoves the flower into Gerard’s hands and opens the playbill. On the first page, next to where it says that Neil Perry is playing the role of Romeo, Neil has written him a little note. 

_ Dear Todd,  _ it says,  _ I’m really sorry for everything. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I really like you a lot. Better late than never, right? Please come meet me after the play. I’d really love to talk to you. Even if you don’t wanna talk, I hope you enjoy the show. -Neil _

Todd rubs at his eyes with the back of his hand. 

“Come on,” he says to his friends. “Let’s go in.”

Neil is absolutely incredible as Romeo. Todd cries a lot. So does Ger. After the show, Todd waits, anxiously, in the lobby, standing in a little cluster with his friends. They watch as the actors slowly start to come out, most of them meeting with a friend or two before leaving the theatre. The brunette girl who was playing Juliet (credited in the playbill as Ginny Danbury, a fact Todd knew for totally normal reasons and not at all because he was jealous) flings herself into the arms of Knox and Knox’s friend. Finally, Neil comes out. He scans the remaining crowd quickly before alighting his gaze onto Todd. 

“Okie dokie,” Ger says. “Exit Meeks and Pitts. Good luck, Todd.”

“Wait--” Todd says. No luck. Within seconds, his friends are gone. Then Neil reaches him and all thoughts of anyone else disappear from Todd’s head. “Hi Neil. That was--you were incredible.”

“Thanks,” Neil says. “Sorry I took so long to come out, there was an incident with the fake blood capsules, and blood just ended up everywhere and I didn’t want to freak you out…” Todd huffs out a laugh. They stare at each other in awkward silence. Then Neil exhales quickly, and runs both hands through his hair. “Urgh,” he says. “Sorry, I had this whole thing all planned out but then I saw you and now the words don’t want to come out right.” Todd scrambles desperately for something to say, but comes up blank. “Hey,” Neil says, smiling as an idea occurs to him. “Wanna grab some coffee?”

They walk side by side to Keating’s. 

“I didn’t think you guys were open so late,” Todd says, just to say something. 

“We’re not,” Neil says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key. It glints in the light from the streetlamps. “We’re gonna break in.” Todd giggles. “What?”

“I don’t think it counts as breaking in if you have the key.”

“Sure it does,” Neil says. “I’m a bad boy, Todd Anderson, don’t you ever forget that.” 

“Right,” Todd replies, still laughing. “A bad boy who stars in Shakespeare plays and uses keys to get into the place where he already works.” 

“You wound me,” Neil says, but the smile on his face says otherwise. He unlocks the door quickly when they get to Keating’s, and flips on the light. They walk together to the counter, and then Neil jumps over it. “Wait right here,” he says. “I’m going to make you something special.” Todd watches, quietly infatuated, as Neil starts up one of the machines and grabs two mugs from the cabinet. They chat about the play, until Neil’s finished making whatever he’s making and pours it into the mugs. He hands one to Todd and keeps the other. He walks back around the counter, watching as Todd takes a sip. 

“Neil,” Todd says. “Didn’t you say you were gonna make something special? Isn’t this just a latte?”

“Yeah,” Neil said. “But it’s special because it’s what you like to drink and you’re special...to me.”

“T-that was terrible,” Todd stampers. Ever since Knox handed him the flower--no, since Steven handed him the ticket--Todd’s felt the pull of something inevitable coming his way. He feels the same pull now, only stronger, so strong it kind of makes his chest hurt. Neil smiles, and Todd knows he feels it too. 

“I never meant to make you feel like a pawn,” Neil says. His voice is quiet, almost a whisper. “I just...I just really liked you, from the very first time you came in, and I was so excited when you kept coming back. I’m really good at reciting other people’s words but not so good at coming up with my own and I asked Charlie for help. We were just trying to find ways that I could flirt with you without it being too weird...I realize now that there were probably more straightforward ways.”

“It’s okay,” Todd says, keeping his voice quiet too. “I liked it, usually, it was just…confusing after a while.”

“Yeah,” Neil says. “I get that.”

“For the record,” Todd says, feeling scared in an exciting sort of way. “I really like you too.”

“Man,” Neil sighs. “I wish we’d just done this earlier. Would have saved both of us a lot of stress and saved me a lot of money from all the free coffee I gave you and we could have been dating already--um, sorry that’s presumptuous, I haven’t even asked yet, and--” Todd cuts him off with a kiss, surprised by his own daring. When he pulls back, Neil’s smiling that perfect smile at him. 

“I hope you know I’m still expecting free coffee,” Todd says. Neil throws back his head and laughs. 

The next morning, Richard Cameron arrives at Keating’s Coffee Shop at 5:00 on the dot, ready for his turn at opening. When he gets there, he finds that the door is unlocked and the lights are already on. He steps inside with a scowl, unsure what to be mad about, but angry nonetheless. 

“Can’t any of you ever keep the schedule straight,” he complains. Then he halts in his tracks. On one of the sofas, which Richard himself knows to be one of the most comfortable items of furniture in the world, Neil Perry and Todd Anderson have fallen asleep holding hands, half drunk cups of coffee on the table in front of them. Neil’s neck is bent at an uncomfortable angle, and Todd is half off the couch. Even Richard can’t help but smile.

He starts the process of getting ready for the day as quietly as he can, leaving it to Charlie, whenever he comes in, to wake up the new couple. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at <https://sunshine394.tumblr.com/>!


End file.
